I don't know what it is about tonight but I'm just really not in the mood to write. It's not that I'm suffering from writers block; it's more that I just don't feel like putting in the time. I don't feel like thinking up or finding a prompt to write on and then spend the time to write it because let's face it, although I give myself the restriction of fifteen minutes sometimes that can turn into a forty or an hour depending on what I'm writing and I'm not in the mood for that kind of time commitment. Yet, here I am at my computer and typing away so that's good news. I haven't succumb to the usual laziness or procrastination that normally tempts me when faced with something I don't want to do. I'm giving myself imaginary extra points for that. As you can read, this post is going to be somewhat nonsensical and possibly even shorter than normal because literally once the fifteen minutes are over, I going to finish my thought and "publish."
So what to write about. I wanted a topic that's quick and easy to write about so I've decide on finances as that seems to be what's on my mind at the moment. No, I'm not giving out specifics about my financial situation but will discuss on more general terms. Over the past couple of years, I've developed a huge fascination with personal finance. I don't know if it has to do with the fact that I've been out of college for a couple of years or the fact that I've worked in the financial industry for over two years now, but I'm loving learning about money and how to manage it by setting up budgets and savings. Probably the fact that I got my job in financial services not long after I graduated but it honestly doesn't really matter.
For anyone who doesn't know, I work for a credit card processing company. Normally, I'm told that I'm some sort of devil or thief about once a week because I'm stealing people's money. Of course, I'm not doing anything. When you do not handle credit cards responsibly, credit card companies will eat you alive. Although the banks that I work will are actually relatively reasonable compared to some others. However, here's the thing: if you know how to manage a credit card and don't have the tendency to overspend because you're using plastic rather than paper, there's really isn't that much to worry about. If you pay your minimum by the due date, you don't get late fees. If you pay your last statement balance in full (as in you pay all of it) you don't get charged interest. Finally, if you don't go over your limit, you won't get over limit fees. Now, I know that the majority of people reading this know all this already but I am continually shocked by just how few people get this simple fact.
Also, if you're bank asks you if you want to "opt in" to overlimit approvals... say no. You have that choice based on the new laws in place. This means that you will not be able to charge more than your credit limit or be able to spend more than you have in the bank. Yes, this will cause your transactions to decline if you are close to your limit but that is better than the ridiculous fees that can and probably will be charged to you for going over the limit or over your balance. Seriously, that's how most banks make their killing. Also, if your bank offers you the ability to "monitor" your card for fraud, don't do that either. Some companies don't have control over this but if you are responsible and you check your balance and transactions regularly (meaning at least once a week) then you do not need this service. This service serves banks more than they serve you because it allows them to block any transaction that they deem possibly suspicious and it can cause an awful lot of hassle.
Finally, there is actual benefit to using credit cards over cash or debit cards. The major benefit comes in the off chance that you find fraudulent activity on your statement. Fraud consists of any activity where you did not give the company your credit card number. If you did a "free trial" and had to pay $1.95 for shipping and then find that a month or a few weeks later you they charged for $89.00, it's not fraud. You didn't read the fine print and they are trying to scam you. However, if this does happen to you as it apparently does to a very large population (so much of my job comes from having to explain this) it is far easier to dispute the transaction if it's a credit card than a debit card. Credit cards have a longer period of time that you are allowed to confirm fraud (90 days normally) than debit cards (something like 30-60 days) and will be able to refund you the money much more quickly if you do notice it. Also, the benefit comes that if someone does have a field day with your card number (they don't actually need your card today with internet transactions), they're affecting the bank's money and not your hard earned dollars. This means that if they get a hold of your credit card (as opposed to debit cards) rent checks and other bills won't bounce because someone has decided to buy themselves and their friends porn as early birthday gifts.
Phew, that was a lot of typing in fifteen minutes. I don't know if anything I wrote above will make any sense but if you do read something and want clarification because I didn't explain it well enough or because I left out words and have terrible grammar, let me know. I quite literally explain this for a living so I'm more than happy sharing this info with friends. Also, if you'd just like to know more, I'm more than willing to talk about. I didn't get into the other kinds of benefits that cards can get you regarding rewards or discuss the personal finance blogs that I've fallen in love with but that can be a different post for another day when I really don't know what to write about.
**I realized after writing this post that it may sound condescending to some. I don't mean it that way. I sometimes need to realize that just because I spend everyday explaining this doesn't mean it's understood by everyone. So really, if you didn't know any of this it doesn't make you stupid. If everyone knew this, I might not have a job.
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